A Troubled End
by Death Take Me
Summary: Nico goes to an orphanage on a quest, which seems more like a suicide mission. The power there is as powerful as a minor go or goddess, but it isn't. Takes place around The Battle of The Labyrinth.


_**All rights go to Rick Riordan.**_

_**Epilogue-A Troubled End**_

_Addie saw as the dagger went threw her stomach, saw what caused her to die young. Her wide eyes were filled with tears as she watched it stick out of her, not wanting to come out. She didn't hear the howling of pain and grief that surrounded her on the battle field. All she could see was her blood-splattered stomach. All she could hear was what was left of the clang that still echoed in her ears from the sound of the metal hitting her bone. She thought of her life and the trouble it caused her. She smiled a sad smile then fell to the ground, dead. _

**_Chapter 1-Her Story Starts_**

April 1, 1888

The heavy rain pored down, flooding the streets of Manhattan. The weather conditions just kept getting worse and the rain made it impossible to be cheerful. Addie sighed as she watched out the dripping window and onto the abandoned streets beneath. The glass fogged up with her breathing, making it difficult to see through. She took her arm and wiped the window off. The occasional cars that streamed underneath her made the tension and misery that was already contained by her wheal up even more, almost to an overpowering point. She had never been in a car, nor had she ever been outside. The orphanage advisor strictly kept all of the kids indoors. Addie had been there all her life, so she had never gone outside.

Addie never new her parents, but they told her what had happened to them. Her parents had taken her on a plane because they wanted to visit Greece when Addie was 9 months old. The plane crash landed in a clearing and both of her parents died. Somehow, she survived. They had taken her to this orphanage because she had no other relatives. She had been there ever since.

"You coming?" Sandy, her roommate, asked. Sandy had been there for only a year, but she was one of Addie's best friends.

"Yeah," Addie said as she pulled herself off of the windowpane. She had fallen asleep there the night before and hadn't bothered to get up before breakfast.

"Well, come on . Agatha said she has something to tell us." Sandy said as she started to walk out of the room.

"What's it about?" Addie asked as she caught up with Sandy's skinny figure.

"Don't know, something important, though." Sandy said.

"How do you know?" Addie asked curiously.

"She had a very stern voice, yet she seemed quite worried." Sandy whispered as they made their way into the dinning room where Ms. Agatha sat.

"Sit down." She said. Her voice was very cold but Addie caught the hint of fear Sandy mentioned.

The two girls sat at the all ready packed table as they were the last ones there. The atmosphere was tense. Everybody was looking at Ms. Agatha, waiting to see what she had to say.

"Today, Mr. Welt is coming." She started. "He has informed me he has a new orphan for our orphanage. When Mr. Welt is here, I expect you all to be on your best behavior. One mess up, and you can get a beating tonight. Understand?"

Everybody answered with a "Yes Ms. Agatha." The kids excited whispers filled the room as they wondered who the new kid could be.

* * *

Nico's nightmare started like this-

_Nico was chained up and on his knees at the Titans' palace at San Francisco. He could feel the blood on his wrists as it dropped to the floor with a satisfying rhythm. He felt like his body just took a beating. Everywhere hurt. He looked in front of him and saw that a girl was chained just like him. He felt like he knew her, but he had never seen her in his life. He would have remembered because they looked like twins. She had long, black hair that was in a braid resting on her right shoulder. Her black eyes looked as bottomless as his, but they had a spark of green in the middle. Her pale complexion and skinny frame resembled his remarkably. She looked beaten, starved, and she walked through hell and survived. She looked like how he felt. He watched as Krones, in Luke's body, walk up to her. _

_"I know that you have my mark, and for that I am grateful. But, you have betrayed me. For that you must pay." _

_So the girl had betrayed Krones. Nico didn't know how he felt about that. So far in his life he had fought for the gods, but now, after how broken, betrayed, and insane he felt, he didn't know if he wanted to fight for them anymore. He watched as the Titan Lord stabbed a knife through her stomach. Nico had an feeling to break out of his chains and attack Krones, but he didn't know why. Krones had just killed the girl he always knew, but hoe did he know her? His question was never answered. _

_Krones now walked over to him. He had a knife in his hand and a cruel smile on his face. _

_"Now, Nico d Angelo, it's time to get my mark." _

_Krones laughed after speaking and took Nico's arm in his hand. Nico struggled and kicked, but he soon lost the will. He didn't feel like fighting anymore. What was the point?_

_He was half way through putting the mark on his arm when Nico vision went black. _

Nico awoke in a cold sweat. His nightmares were getting more terrible every night. Soon he would have to stop sleeping. Nico looked down at his arm and saw that, in fact, that half of Krones' symbol was on his arm. The arm itself was soaked with blood.

He ran out of his room in the Big House and into the bathroom. There he found towels and soaked up the blood on his arm. It took about five towels and after the towels were soaked through and stained red. Looking down at the floor, he cursed; do to the fact that it was also covered in blood.

After he got the blood cleaned up he looked at Krones' mark on his arm. It kind of made him sick because it was practically saying that Krones owned him. And he didn't feel like getting killed just yet.

Nico walked out of the bathroom and into the room he had been staying in. After Chiron had found out Hades was Nico's father he wanted him to stay at camp. He knew that Krones would try and recruit him. Too bad camp wasn't safe enough. Since Hades didn't have a cabin Nico had to stay in the Big House. Chiron had given Nico this room even though he didn't like it. Yet, Nico found himself spending all of his time in his room. He didn't train like the others, because everybody was too scared of him. They wouldn't fight with a son of Hades.

When he walked in he put his jacket on, despite the hundred degree heat. He needed to hide the mark or they would kill him. So he walked down stairs like that and entered the rec-room, where the cabin meetings took place. Now, though, only Percy Jackson and Chiron were sitting there. They were fighting about something, but Nico didn't know what.

He always had a rocky relationship with Percy. Secretly, deep down inside, he still blamed the son of Poseidon for Bianca's death. He could have stopped her, but Percy didn't. Now Nico always blamed him. Even when Percy tried to be nice it bothered him. Nico didn't like people, he just didn't function around them right. He didn't understand why people hung out or talked, or even had friends to begin with. He hated people, he really did. They looked at him with fear or made fun of him. He also hated talking to people. He always used him voice as less as possible. It just wasn't necessary and took up too much energy.

"Hello, child." Chiron said as he noticed him. Nico only nodded and went to sit down. He never looked Percy Jackson in the eye because he was always too mad at him. If he looked into those eyes he didn't know what he would do. He could let all of his power out full force or he could cry his eyes out. Both were things he didn't want to do.

"Fine, I'll go with him until he gets to the orphanage." Percy said to Chiron.

"Who goes to what orphanage?" Nico asked, clearly curious. Percy and Chiron exchanged a look and Chiron said, "We have a quest for you, Nico."

Nico's brain went into overdrive, thinking about how he could have gotten a quest. Soon, his question was answered.

"You need to go to the St. Agnes' Orphanage to see what the high power is we are getting. We have detected a power so strong it could belong to a minor god or goddess. Yet, they are all counted for and none are at the orphanage. The tables are turning to a very powerful monster, probably looking for demigods. Or, as we hope, it could be a minor go or goddess that doesn't know who they are yet and are quite young. If it is a demigod then you need to kill it and collect the demigod it is after. If it is a person with this power then stay with them and get them on your side. Report back as soon as they trust you." Chiron told him.

Nico stood up out of his chair with fury. "The only way you give me a quest is if it is suicidal. That's the ONLY REASON!" he yelled.

They only stared back, waiting for an answer. He was mad at them, mad at them all. He was mad at Chiron, he was mad at all of the campers, and he was mad at the gods. They hated him so bad that they planed on sending him to a monster as powerful as a god. If he came back, and that was a big if, then they wouldn't even award him. They would just look down at him again, and this time, probably kick him out. He HATED them.

"WHY DO YOU DO THIS?! YOU JUST WANT ME GONE. AND YOU KNOW WHAT? YOU ALREADY LOST ME!" He said the last part while pulling up his sleeve, revealing Kronos' symbol.

"Nico?!" Percy shouted as he pulled out Riptide. "What did you do?"

Chiron, whose face looked like it had aged a hundred years said, "Explain. Now."

"I had this dream..." Nico told his dream to them. He didn't mention the girl, nor did he mention that he barely resisted. It was too personal. He was still trying to figure it out in his head.

"This is not good." Chiron said. "You need to go to that orphanage, as soon as possible."

"Don't you need a prophesy?" Percy asked. Nico shot him a glare but didn't aim it at his eyes. He didn't look into anybody's eyes.

"Yes, Nico, you do. Make it quick." Chiron said.

So Nico got up off the table and pulled his sleeve down and walked away. When he got to the attic he walked up to the mummy who sat there.

"Approach, seeker, and ask." It said in a raspy voice.

"What is the prophesy for my quest?" Nico asked in a bored voice.

_You shall die in the forest with the trees so high._

_And when you fall you will never again see the sky._

_The daughter of the lost shall rise before the bad,_

_And fall like her dad._

_The son of death shall lose the fight,_

_For the insanity covers his sight._

_And in the ground he shall find his heart,_

_And lose it when the light parts,_

_And opens to the dark gloom,_

_For they will lose the fight soon. _

_The hated powers combine,_

_And when they find,_

_The answer comes clear,_

_The fight is lost for all to hear. _

The prophesy kind of made him uneasy. It basically said that he would lose to insanity. That wasn't something you wanted to hear everyday. So, with a weight in his chest, he started his way down to find Chiron and Percy.

When he walked into the room Chiron was out of his wheel chair and percy still had his sword out. Nico knew they didn't trut him fully anymore. They shouldn't. He did think about betraying them, he did hate them, they had so many reasons to not trust him.

"Keep your jacket on when you go outside. You don't want any fights before you go." Chiron said.

Nico nodded and followed them out of the door. When he first felt the humidity outside his first thought was to take the jacket off. But Chiron was right; it would cause too much commotion. He had the thoughts in his head all the way to the camp boundaries.

Nico and Percy got into the van that would take Nico to the orphanage. Chiron, who was standing by Thaila's pine tree, said, "Goodbye, and be safe!"

Then the van set off.


End file.
